THE POWER OF SILENCE
MEMORISE: For thus saith the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength: and ye would not. Isaiah 30:15
READ: Proverbs 18:6 -8
6 A fool's lips enter into contention, and his mouth calleth for strokes.
7 A fool's mouth is his destruction, and his lips are the snare of his soul.
8 The words of a talebearer are as wounds, and they go down into the innermost parts of the belly.
MESSAGE
The greatest things in life are formed and grown in silence. When a woman conceives the baby is formed in silence. By the time the baby is mature enough for the world to see, he or she will come out of the womb and the noise will begin naturally. Many years ago, a minister of God came from America to the Redemption Camp and when he saw how big the place was and all the amenities there, he asked, “Why are you not making a lot of noise about this place?” I told him that in my village, they say that when you light a fire, you cover it so that it flames very well, and the wind will not put it out. After a while, the fire will be so big that you won’t be able to cover it anymore. That is when everyone will see it. The less noisy you are, the farther you will go in life and the greater you will be.
Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. Matthew 10:16
One major thing that makes a serpent wise is its silence. If they were noisy animals, I think all serpents in the world would have been dead by now. The more silent you are, the less likely you are to be killed by the wolves of this world. The noisy fellow will talk without thinking, but the silent fellow will think before talking. If he does not have a perfect answer yet, he would rather say nothing, so you cannot hold his words against him.
It is not every question that you must answer. It is not every challenge that you must rise to. Learn to stay silent sometimes; that is how you will last long. The reason some people lose their respect and relevance in society is that they talk too much. Proverbs 17:28 says that even a fool is considered wise when he keeps silent.
When everyone is talking in a meeting and one fellow is quiet, it is likely that soon, the head of that meeting would ask everyone to be silent for their quiet fellow to speak, then his words will be more respected. They do that because his silence is perceived as wisdom and so his words will be held with high regard. Always ask God for the wisdom to know when to be silent, when to talk and what to say at all times.
KEY POINT
Great things are formed and grown in silence.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: Proverbs 31- Ecclesiastes 3
HYMN 24: THROUGH THE LOVE OF GOD OUR SAVIOR
1 Through the love of God our Saviour,
all will be well.
Free and changeless is his favour,
all, all is well.
Precious is the blood that healed us,
perfect is the grace that sealed us,
strong the hand stretched forth to shield us,
all must be well.
2 Though we pass through tribulation,
all will be well.
Ours is such a full salvation,
all, all is well.
Happy, still in God confiding,
fruitful, if in Christ abiding,
holy, through the Spirit’s guiding,
all must be well.
3 We expect a bright tomorrow,
all will be well.
Faith can sing through days of sorrow,
'All, all is well.'
On our Father’s love relying,
Jesus every need supplying,
in our living, in our dying,
all must be well.
